Thank you to everyone that has contributed. This would not have been possible without your help and support. I hope that the official release will be one that everyone can be proud of.

I will make a second post with the notes and tools that I promised as soon as I gather everything together and get it all ready.

Old beta testing notes and updates will remain here.

Spoiler:

(Thank you mods for re-opening my old thread , so I guess I'll start posting here again. Once again, I'm really sorry for disappearing from the internet for the last 4 years. I hope to make it up by finishing up this translation as quickly and as professionally as possible.

Cutting to the chase, here's a beta patch of the current progress up to now. The CRC32 checksum of the game file that I am working off of is: C8D286C9. Please verify that your unpatched file has the same checksum, or there may be unexpected errors during play.

WARNING: This is still a work in progress. There may be game-crashing, save-erasing bugs or text display issues.Newest patch is on top and has all previous fixes included, and older patches follow underneath in case the latest patch is unstable. I apologize in advance if it seems overwhelming to download new patches too often. I only wish to correct bugs that have been brought to my attention as quickly as possible. I will leave a short patch history so that you may decide whether or not it's worth it to re-download.

Fixed bug causing Devil Analyzer to crash the game when Azazel's entry is visible.

Some modifications to MT2's fusion tutorial text to be more accurate.

Special Announcement:The translation is now entering the final stages before release. I have started labeling the patches as "release candidates", which means that, barring anything going wrong or no more input during the testing phase, it will be ready for release. I encourage anyone who might still want to affect the development of the translation by reporting bugs or translation errors: Please try out the patch and let me know of anything that needs to be changed. I will be playing through the game myself as well now, and hopefully by the time I finish (which may be a while since I'm a slow player :) ), it will finally be ready for a real release. Thank you everyone for all the help you've given, it has certainly paid off and this will be the product of everyone's cooperation.

To-Do List (in no particular order or priority):

Fix Debug Mode for scenes (maybe, would be a very low priority)

Decide whether or not to change parameter or status names. Strength -> Power, or "CLOSE" to "SEALED", etc.

Fixed Royal Castle teleport incorrectly displaying options and sending the player to bugged locations.

Fixed shop dialogue displaying placeholder text.

Fixed text error with demon class name "Divine" and item name "Metal Boots".

Renamed some spells that already exist in modern SMT games to match them better ("Tentarafu" to "Tentarafoo", "Shibabu" to "Shibaboo", "Marinkarin" to "Marin Karin", "Traest" to "Traesto", "Makajama" to "Makajam").

Attempt #4 at fixing demon stats not displaying. Please work this time...

Name entry screen should function without a problem now.

Staff credits are now properly aligned.

Script has been checked for consistency and text spacing, and some item names have been changed.

Town names in the Demon World should now display correctly.

Save file location names have been expanded.

I've been using Higan to play it for the most part. Other emulators may display bugs, but I'm hoping for a bug-free experience on at least that one.

What I need now are volunteers to start playing through the game and looking for any bugs or translation errors. I've been through the beginning parts of the game quite a few times, but every extra set of eyes would help immensely and speed up completion. It would also allow me to hear opinions and receive input on things that might seem okay to me, but not to others. Basically, my bug list is now down to nitpicky things like "Should the stats be renamed" or "Enemies with really long names push the combat results down".

The scripts for Megami Tensei 1 and 2 should be in the game entirely. There is the matter of the ending and credits, which are not done but I intend to look over as soon as possible.

The last 2 weeks have been spent fine-tuning the font drawing routines, fixing display bugs and crashes, finishing the game over screen, and basically getting the game to a point where it should be playable. The things I'm expecting to bug out are certain scripts in dialogue that may trigger text that hasn't been translated or has been moved. Of course, if there are any bugs in the game's core systems like party management or shop interfaces, those need to be discovered as well.

Feel free to jump into the game, either as a tester or just for fun. And don't hesitate to let me know what you think.

Thank you for your time and patience.

Everything below is old and outdated content from 2008. It will remain here for posterity's sake.

Spoiler:

Updated April 17, 2008: Started a blog for the project. Though there probably isn't much to update frequently with, I'll just treat it as a regular webpage. The link is here.

And I don't think I've said so yet, so a big thank-you to Romhacking.net and everyone here for everything so far!

Hello, new to the board here. I've been working on a translation for the SNES game, "Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei". The game is a 16-bit remake of the original two Megami Tensei games for the NES. The first game is actually based on a set of short stories by Nishitani Aya called "Digital Devil Story". Namco used the license to create two dungeon-crawlers for the NES, before Atlus bought the rights and created Shin Megami Tensei for the SNES.

About the Story:Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei is actually a compilation of two games: the two Megami Tensei games published by Namco on the NES. The first game used characters from Nishitani Aya's Digital Devil Story series. The second game had almost nothing to do with the first, but this remake added a few tie-ins.

In Megami Tensei, a high school student named Nakajima Akemi studied occult books and lore and figured out a way to simulate demon summoning rituals using computers. But he unwittingly starts a chain reaction of events that lead to demons appearing throughout the world. When he was about to be killed by Loki, one of the demons he summoned, Nakajima was saved by a transfer student named Yumiko Shirasagi. Apparently, Yumiko is the reincarnation of the Japanese creation goddess, Izanami. They band together in an attempt to rid the world of the demons.

In Megami Tensei 2, civilization has been nearly wiped out by a global war. The main character is a boy living in a fallout shelter under Tokyo, passing the time by playing a video game called Devil Buster. When he manages to beat the game with his friend, a demon suddenly appears inside the game. Calling himself Pazuzu, he claims to be a messenger of God and calls the hero and his friend the Messiahs. The war that ravaged the world has opened a dimensional rift in the middle of Tokyo, and demons are using it to flood the world. The leader of the demons is named Bael, and it is the mission of the two heroes to defeat Bael and stop the demonic invasion.

About the Game:

Both games are very much like dungeon crawlers. The majority of the game takes place in grid-shaped maps, with extensive boundaries and multiple levels. Most of the time, you will have control of two human characters. They can equip most weapons and armor that you find, and also gain experience through fighting. But the game is basically impossible to win alone, so that's where demon summoning comes in. Almost all of the enemies you encounter in the game can be convinced to join your party. Every demon has a cost to use though, which comes in the form of magnetite. Magnetite is basically monster food; they need it to survive. According to the novels, it simulates the magnetic field used by computers, like with Nakajima's program, and helps offset the various environmental factors that prevent demons from existing in our world. Demons also cannot gain experience, but they can be upgraded through fusion. By combining two demons at a temple, you can create a potentially stronger one.

About the Translation:

I started this translation because I wanted to be able to play both games in English, all of the way through. I know enough Japanese to get the gist of the plot, but since English is my first language, it'd make things so much easier.

If anyone can help with the Japanese translation, that'd be excellent. I will prepare all the materials you should need to understand the game and its text.

I'd also appreciate any help regarding the demon names. All of the demons are named after real-life counterparts, but even after some painstaking research, there are still a few whose origins elude me.

I will be handling all of the programming aspects of the translation. All dialogue has been dumped, and I will write an inserter once the dialogue is translated. I have added a variable width font for the 12x12 character set used in the game's dialogue. The game has also been modified to accept 8-bit characters instead of the original 16-bits, essentially doubling the available space for English text. If this is not enough, I can also apply further methods. I will be working to convert the 8x8 font to be variable width, since some of the names in this game are much too long for 8 characters, such as "Hinokagutsuchi" and "Yomotsu-Shikome".

Thanks for the compliments. This isn't my first time working with the SNES, but once finished, this will be the project I will be most proud of.

About the demon names, there's several factors I have to take into consideration. The published Megaten games usually use the first original spelling of a name, and repeat it in every subsequent game, regardless if it is correct or not. There's also the issue of how to spell a phonetically pronounced name, and even multiple spellings of a name through the transition from its native language to English. And further still, when there are totally different versions of a name but might mean something different to an English speaker. Let me list a few examples.

Apollyon: In the Bible, this is the Greek name for Abaddon. I'm pretty sure the latter has more recognition and evokes different images in a person's mind than the former. And also, there is another entity in the game named Apollon, the Greek god. The Japanese text is capable of spelling both names differently, but they seemed to adopt the former as what they want. Should I respect the original intent of the writers, or change it in the interest of maintaining clarity?

Susa-no-O: Obviously this can be spelled multiple ways. Susanoo, Susano'o, etc. This might not seem like a big deal to some people, but perfectionism is my flaw.

Tanki: A Chinese turtle of some sort, but should I call it by its Chinese name, Dan Gui? Same for Chinron, which is Japanese but the Chinese name is Qing Long.

Pulukisi: This has been called everything from Purski, Phurski, and Purksi. The name may have a history among the game, but I think it had a flawed spelling.

Baal / Bael: There are actually 2 different demons with this name in Megami Tensei 2. Bael is one of the major baddies, while Baal is just a random critter. I guess there's nothing that can be done about this kind of similarity.

---

Well, those are just some of the things I was always considering. I can post the ones I haven't found any history on, along with the notes I was able to glean from Japanese pages. Thankfully on the Japanese side, there's pretty much only one way to spell these names, so it's easier to get hits in a search engine.

サウォバク = Sawobak, though I mostly found hits for "Sawo Bhaku". Appears as a skeleton in game, and supposedly based on a demon in a Nepalese mask dance.

ハクマ・ブドー = Hakuma Budo, though some sites say the real spelling is ハク・マ・ブートゥ or プートゥ. It's based on some demon in the Mahakali Pyakhan dance. Supposedly a kind of demon used by Shumbha in the fight against Kali.

ストーンカ = Stonka, I hate this one the most. It's supposed to be based on a folktale from Bulgaria. A bull with skin as tough as bronze and causes thunder when it stomps. It killed peasants and their horses, and was slain when one of the peasants disguised themselves as a horse, and impaled it with a golden sword.

ラクチャランゴ = Rakcharango, another hard one to find. It's a bull or cow that's been showered in blood, giving it a crimson color. My note says it may be related to Yamantaka, and also that "rakta" means red or blood, so that may be how the beginning is spelled.

ファライ = Farai, I have no clue on this one. It shows up as a Naga woman in game, and is classified as a "Kijo", or demoness. The closest match I could find was Foraii, but that's a male demon.

ゾマ = Zoma, this one is easy to spell, but I'm just curious as to where this really comes from. And I'm pretty sure it's not Dragon Quest 3.

Those are pretty much the only toss-ups I have left. It was pretty crazy to find matches like ウィプリ=Upyr, or ヴィー=Viy, but I managed to get most of them.

---

Also another thing that I was thinking about. The game series has a history of using shorthand or Japanese names for the demon classes. In SMT: Nocturne, they used names like "Beast", "Foul", "Deity", etc. In Gideon's translation, he kept the Japanese: "Majin", "Kijo", "Gedou". I could probably expand the names to something meaningful, but would it be helpful? And would it sound too hokey to have a demon appear as "Archdemon Loki" or "Spirit Undine"? I would like to keep them brief, since it'll make things easier to code.

SMT3 managed to fit those monster titles into six or seven letters. Some of the stuff came out a bit odd due to this restriction, like "Megami" left untranslated (I think it was a screen space restriction rather than a data space restriction, seeing how "Element" came out just fine), but others turned out pretty well IMHO, like "Tyrant" for "Maou".

There are some titles that don't have an equivalent in SMT3, like Jaryuu...if "Wyrm" weren't already a demon name, I'd suggest that.

The leftmost names are the ones I currently prefer the most, and the names in quotes are what Nocturne used. It's almost complete, but obviously some names could use some work. The class names are printed within 24 pixels, 2 12x12 kanji. The Jakyou menu leaves enough space for 5 8x8 tiles; I could use 6 but they would run flush up against the monster's name. This is what I meant by being easier if they were shorter. I'll have to change that menu around for longer names.

My biases will shine clear here, but as long as you keep that in mind, there shouldn’t be a problem

Quote

Apollyon: In the Bible, this is the Greek name for Abaddon. I'm pretty sure the latter has more recognition and evokes different images in a person's mind than the former. And also, there is another entity in the game named Apollon, the Greek god. The Japanese text is capable of spelling both names differently, but they seemed to adopt the former as what they want. Should I respect the original intent of the writers, or change it in the interest of maintaining clarity?

I prefer to translate Greek as Greek, not as Hellenized Latin. Why would I do the same with Hebrew? That’s the way, I look at it, at least, though I understand how tempting it is (what with the MegaTen and the Hebrew references).

Quote

Susa-no-O: Obviously this can be spelled multiple ways. Susanoo, Susano'o, etc. This might not seem like a big deal to some people, but perfectionism is my flaw.

I prefer Susanowo for practical reasons. The dashes don’t feel right, the doubled o confuses English readers, and I like looking at obsolete historical Japanese readings in Romanization only.

Quote

Tanki: A Chinese turtle of some sort, but should I call it by its Chinese name, Dan Gui? Same for Chinron, which is Japanese but the Chinese name is Qing Long.

I prefer to translate Chinese as Chinese when the details aren’t severely contaminated with Japanese aspects. Also, when you see a reading “ron” for dragon, that’s an imitation of the Chinese “lóng” (or “lung” if it’s Cantonese, I suppose); the Sino-Japanese reading is ryū, ryō, or rō.

Quote

Pulukisi: This has been called everything from Purski, Phurski, and Purksi. The name may have a history among the game, but I think it had a flawed spelling.

サウォバク = Sawobak, though I mostly found hits for "Sawo Bhaku". Appears as a skeleton in game, and supposedly based on a demon in a Nepalese mask dance.

ハクマ・ブドー = Hakuma Budo, though some sites say the real spelling is ハク・マ・ブートゥ or プートゥ. It's based on some demon in the Mahakali Pyakhan dance. Supposedly a kind of demon used by Shumbha in the fight against Kali.

I’m afraid that I don’t know Nepal Bhasa and I don’t know any university professors who’d probably know off the top of their head. But those would probably be the best trees to start barking up.

Quote

ストーンカ = Stonka, I hate this one the most. It's supposed to be based on a folktale from Bulgaria. A bull with skin as tough as bronze and causes thunder when it stomps. It killed peasants and their horses, and was slain when one of the peasants disguised themselves as a horse, and impaled it with a golden sword.

I have one source saying it’s from Yugoslavia. That can’t be right, because Yugoslavia was a political entity, not a cultural one, but it is one consideration....

Seriously, the only reference I can find to killing any man-eating bull with a golden sword is the Minotaur, and that can’t be right, either.

Quote

ラクチャランゴ = Rakcharango, another hard one to find. It's a bull or cow that's been showered in blood, giving it a crimson color. My note says it may be related to Yamantaka, and also that "rakta" means red or blood, so that may be how the beginning is spelled.

I’m not finding any actual details on it, but “Raksha lango” or “Rakshalango” seems right.

Quote

ファライ = Farai, I have no clue on this one. It shows up as a Naga woman in game, and is classified as a "Kijo", or demoness. The closest match I could find was Foraii, but that's a male demon.

Farai is a demonic name found in Le Grand Grimoire, at least, so it’s passable.

Quote

ゾマ = Zoma, this one is easy to spell, but I'm just curious as to where this really comes from. And I'm pretty sure it's not Dragon Quest 3.

If it’s anything like a crazy qabbalah scholar, then it’s Simon ben Zoma.

About Yahweh, I kinda wanted to avoid mentioning him for spoiling the game, but it's probably common enough knowledge that you fight him anyway. The game calls him YHVH, and I think I saw him referred to on other Megaten websites as 唯一神, which is "The Only God". So if you encounter him in the game, it'll say something like "God YHVH".

I was trying my best to find nouns that would sound good as a classification. My opinion is that it should sound as natural as possible when combining the class name with the demon's actual name. Like a guy on the street points and says, "Look! It's a/an/the (class name) (monster name)!" Though this will be hard since Japanese seems to like classifying things more than English. I think an English speaking person would just skip the class name most of the time.

If it helps any, here's a website with all the sprites of the enemies in the game. If you come up with a name for the class, you can compare it to the pictures of them in the game and see if they sound appropriate.

Thanks again for the help and suggestions, it's much appreciated, and I'll try to take it all into account.

As an update, I've got the 8x8 font properly aligning into VWF form. I'm working to get it displayed in game now, and hopefully it won't break anything.